The Seated Triple Jump has been a mainstay in the training programs I design for quite a while now.
I do think the Seated Horizontal Jump has a slightly better carryover to shot speed (it’s a single effort and concentric-only).
However, the triple jump variation is a great way to add variety to your training program. It’s also fantastic at improving your muscles’ reactive capacity.
Training to improve your reactive capacity allows your body to become better at absorbing force and utilizing it to create explosive efforts.
Essentially, it’s the idea behind using plyometrics in a training program. They are utilized to train your body to become better at absorbing and redirecting force.
Specifically the Seated Triple Jump is great for improving your performance in a couple scenarios. First, when you need to string 2 shots together. Second, during a shot-reshot situation.
Here’s a video of me performing the exercise. …I shot this without warming up so don’t judge me for the lack of distance I cover!
Essentially it’s the same as the Box Squat/Seated Horizontal Jump.
The only difference is that you’re performing 3 consecutive jumps.
If you’re new to this exercise, don’t worry about minimizing your ground contact time. Ground contact time is simply how long you spend on the ground between each jump. The goal of reactive jumps like this is to spend as little time as possible between jumps.
This trains your body to produce maximal force with minimal ground contact. Ultimately this leads to an improvement in speed.
However, again, if you don’t have experience performing this exercise, don’t concentrate too much on your ground contact time. As your familiarity with the exercise increases, you’ll find that you naturally start springing off the ground.
The sets vary depending on the time of the year. However, I usually have wrestlers perform 2 “reps” each set. Each rep is one triple jump.
For more info on why these jumps are a must in your program read- Lifting Programs for Wrestlers.
Hi, I’m Dickie (the author of this blog). Here I am with my good buddy, Kyle Dake. While he doesn't have a nice coat like me, he is pretty good at wrestling. Here's what he said about my training system:
Before I began lifting using Dickie's system my wrestling skills were getting slightly better. I've now been lifting under his guidance for more than 5 months and I have begun to dominating ALL of my competition. At first I had little faith in Dickie and his program, but now I would run into a wall if he told me I would get stronger! I know it sounds insane, but I would. The bottom line is Dickie is an expert and knows what he is talking about. If you want to defeat those kids whom you've always lost to and reach a level you never thought possible, I suggest you start lifting using Dickie's system immediately.
-Kyle Dake, 4X NCAA Division 1 National Champion